Happy New Year!

Let me be the first to burst your bubble: Your resolutions are going to fail.

Why? Because resolutions almost always fail because they are based on fixing something or achieving a specific outcome that is most likely unachievable otherwise you’d already have done it.

Yes, it’s time for my annual “set intentions, not resolutions” post:

You get the idea.

Too often we set ourselves up for failure, not success, which is why I coach not to set resolutions, but intentions, and I am not alone in this practice.

From the Daily Calm meditation this morning:

With intentions we are not focused on what we need to fix, but what we want to create.

Or this from Russell Brand:

How did he become such a spiritual guru? I know … he set an intention to do just that.

My Intentions for 2019

I have two intentions for 2019: 1) Clean my life and 2) have more fun. 

1. Clean my life

I am intent on being healthy. In 2018 I did two rounds of Whole30. Yes. I started it as a means of losing weight (which I did do, but did not keep off, but that’s a story for Facebook), but I have discovered so much more in the process and I am excited to see what is created here. I am deep into reading It Starts with Food, have begun Round 3 with several friends, spending more and more time and my grocery budget at local farmers markets, and my Instapot is my new favorite kitchen gadget.

It turns out I enjoy looking at food with a whole new perspective and my intent is to now know and understand how food impacts my health. If my parents are any indication, I have a good 40+ years to go in this body, so how I treat it is important.

I am intent on having a healthy home. Along my Whole30 journey I have begun looking at how I store food and clean my home. I am also seeing how my consumption is leading to too much plastic and other wastes. So I have begun purging my home of chemicals and plastics, replacing them with organic cleansers and products, as well as glass and silicon products for storage, along with reuseable bags for produce shopping. Here are a few of the changes I have made so far. I can’t wait to see what else Facebook shows me based on past clicks and what I Google.

I am intent on creating a tranquil space. Short of selling my home and moving, I have not been motivated enough to actual declutter my spaces (I just complain about it and covet spaces I don’t have).

It seems that no matter how much I get rid of, it’s still not enough to create a peaceful environment. I don’t see myself going all Marie Kondo, but I know that holding onto stuff for the sake of holding onto stuff isn’t working for me any more. This is definitely going to be a long-term journey for me.

2. Have fun

This is the big one, and the one that’s really most important.

I am such a killjoy at home and with my family and friends. I pack my fun in on vacations or at the LMA annual conference, and then complain the rest of the year that I am too tired or too busy to go out and do whatever it is you invite me to do. Sure the Sports Dude and I hit up the Rams home games and several concerts each year, but I really try and avoid other people as much as I can. Now that the kids are basically out of the house, I don’t have that excuse any longer (I do have my dog … but that would just be another excuse).

LMA fun with Catherine McDonagh and Roy Sexton
LMA fun with Catherine MacDonagh and Roy Sexton

So fun it is in 2019.

I’m saying yes to FUN!

So far, I’ve scheduled a movie with a friend this weekend, Elton John concert with friends later this month, and, yes, another Spartan Race in May, with, you guessed it, friends.

Having fun isn’t just about off-work hours, but what we do at work.

How’s the morale in your office or in your department or with your team? If it needs work, do something about it.

Get your team out the door for group activity, and I’m not talking about a team-building exercise, but some fun (maybe leave work early and go to the opening of a movie everyone wants to see).

Check in with HR about some positive things you can do in the office (“Hot Chocolate Day” was a big success here last month).

Before the department meeting or retreat, bring some levity and have some FUN.

Life is too damn short, and, honestly, Roy Sexton can only bring so much FUN to the world. So, yes, #BeARoySexton. Don’t take yourself or your life or your job too seriously. Give back to those around you, and have some FUN while doing it all!

Happy New Year!